Prominent civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom says it’s “critical” the court appoints an independent lawyer to represent baby Lucia, after a shocking photo emerged of the infant with an apparent small abrasion on her chin.

Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of the eight-month-old baby girl, has told law enforcement officials that Lucia’s father, Oscar-winning star Mel Gibson, caused the injury during a brutal brawl on January 6 at the actor’s home in Malibu, California.

Bloom, who once filed suit against the Catholic Church in a child abuse case, said Lucia’s safety could only be ensured with her own independent counsel, because mother and father are clearly locked in a dispute about what happened during the altercation at Mel’s Malibu mansion.

“Each of them is going to say they’re looking out for the best interest of the child, but the court should appoint an independent attorney, who’s not accountable to the mother or not accountable to the father,” she said.

“(The lawyer) is accountable only to the court to look out for the best interest of the child, to protect that child from future harm, to make sure that she has financial resources in the future if this couple splits up, as clearly they are, to look out solely for her interests.